Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - highly elevated pcv

My dog Gizmo is a 4 year survivor of this disease, having relapsed 3 times. At this time, he is on a maintenance dose of cyclosporine 25mg eod. We just came from the vets office yesterday & his pcv was 69%!! Last month it was in the high 60's also (I cant recall the exact # at this time). We are very concerned that it is running so high--all his other numbers are running okay. We have talked about discontinuing the cyclo but he cant go medicine free w/o a relapse soon after. I'm not sure where to go from here. Any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Merry Christmas to everyone, Liz

Liz KY

holy cow, what does the vet say about a number that high? is there any negative effects or could that be seen as normal for your dog?

josh california

Hey there Liz, I'm sorry to hear that Giz's pcv is still high. The only other thing I can think of is pancreatitis maybe causing dehydration . In that case though Giz would most likely be vomiting, which you didnt mention. I dont enough about the cyclo to know if that could be contributing. Is his protein levels elevated also, or just the pcv? Teresa

Teresa va

Liz, Are they using an automated analyzer? If so ask them if it might need the machine to be recalibrated. Also ask them to spin a manual pcv and visually take a reading before you begin to worry about a medical problem. We are having a similar problem in the reverse. Patrice

Patrice New York State

Liz, This may be what is happening. How is Gizmo behaving for the blood draw? If he gets very frightened it could be this form of transient polycythemia. If all the other values of the cbc seem within normal range, I would not be too worried right now. But would expect the vet to do their best to sort this out for you asap. patrice http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/10900.htm "Relative Polycythemia: A loss of plasma volume will result in an apparent increase in RBC numbers. Relative polycythemia can be caused by any mechanism that results in hemoconcentration, such as dehydration from vomiting or diarrhea, or in a fluid shift from the intravascular to the extravascular space due to increased vascular permeability. Transient polycythemia is a type of relative polycythemia that occurs when excitement or fear causes splenic contraction, resulting in the release of large numbers of RBC into the circulation. Transient polycythemia is characterized by an elevated PCV with normal plasma protein concentrations. In both relative and transient polycythemia, the PCV is increased but the total RBC mass is normal. Relative polycythemia is diagnosed by finding an increased PCV and plasma protein concentration. There are breed differences in normal reference ranges of PCV. For example, Greyhounds normally have a PCV of ≥60%. Treatment consists of rehydrating the animal and treating the underlying cause."

Patrice New York State

Thanks to all that responded..my vet has spoken with the specialist & they have decided to quit the cyclosporine & do a check on his kidneys. He said that the kidneys have something to do with red blood cell/bone marrow production & if he has a tumor or something it could be causing an elevated pcv. Well now I am tore up b/c Giz cant be med free--we have tried it 3 times & he just cant do it; however, he cant continue on w/an elevated pcv like it is. When I asked the vet about d/c ing the cyclo, he said that he was just telling me what the expert told him to do. Please just pray for us to make the right decisions regarding his care. Again thanks for all your input. Liz and Giz

Liz KY

Liz, I am also from Kentucky. Please email me at tlbrown@iglou.com. I have a great group of vets and you might want to get their opinion. Teresa

Teresa Smithfield Kentucky

Hey Liz, Your post just breaks my heart. Gizmo has been such a tough boy through all this and he has been going through it right with my Jacob give or take a few months over the last 5+ years. I pray that it isnt his kidneys. I saw Patrice's post and I was thinking of the same condition as her but didnt post it because I figured Gizmo has had his blood drawn so often for so long that I thought if that were the issue it would of happened before recently. I know Gizmo had cushings before so would that make prednisone totally out of the question if you stop the cyclo? Are they sending the blood out to confirm the in house readings? So, I guess the next step would be a chem panel, and specific kidney function test? Oh girl, I'm so sorry that Giz has to face another obstacle. Please know that I will say an extra prayer for your sweet boy. Try to stay positive. The kidneys do play a role rbc production but I know from my medical background there are other treatable causes, which include cardiovascular. Kidney cancer/tumor can happen but it is extremely rare in cats and dogs.I also know there is a tick borne disease that can cause a high pcv. When I find my old medical book I will look it up and let you know. Teresa

Teresa va

Hey again Liz, If you need to talk or just vent, you know my email address. I dont know if you still have my home # but if not I can give you that too. Just email me if ya need me. Teresa

Teresa va

Liz, Just wanted to see how you and Giz are doing I changed ISP provider so I have a new email. tlbrown123@bellsouth.net Teresa and Cranky

Teresa Smithfield

We went back this past Wednesday & pcv was 62% so they did an x-ray of the kidneys. It didnt show anything significant so we are just going to do what we have been doing & check him again in 2 weeks. If his count hasnt decreased somewhat by that time they are going to do an ultrasound on him to see if there are any tumors that might be causing the pcv increase. Please pray for us (this has caused some stress in the household--hubby dont think we need to do all the tests b/c he says there will be no surgery if thats what it takes). O well, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. :) Thanks for asking about us & I hope that little Cranky is doing fantastic. Give him a hug for us. Liz

Liz KY

This thread was discussed between 18/12/2007 and 04/01/2008

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